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Saturday, May 13, 2017

On This Date in Minnesota History: May 13

May
13, 1909 – Louis Arbogast, a wealthy butcher who operated a
large and successful meat market at Seven Corners in St. Paul, Minn., was
murdered this morning while sleeping in his bed at his home on West 7th
Street.

Arbogast Home1

His head was crushed, and the police reported that his bed was saturated with
gasoline and set on fire. Following blood drops on the floor, authorities
discovered an axe covered with blood and wrapped in some old clothing in the
cellar.

This photo of the interior of the room at the Arbogast home indicates the
terrible fury and desperation of purpose of the person or persons who killed
Arbogast by cutting his head open with repeated blows of a heavy ax. Arbogast
was lying on the left side of the bed, Mrs. Arbogast on the right side. It will
be noticed that both pillows are covered with blood and that the keen ax blade
had so cut into the pillows and customary German feather bed covering as to
allow most of the feathers to billow out of the mattress and the pillow on
which Arbogast slept. Blood is spattered on the walls, both at the head and the
side of the bed. The police maintain that the fact that blood is on Mrs.
Arbogast’s pillow, as well as on her husband’s, indicates that she was not in
the bed when Arbogast was killed.2

Stories told by the widow, Minna Arbogast and her daughters Ida and Louise did
not agree, and seemed to change with each telling. In one story, Ida told
police that she smelled smoke, went to her parents’ bedroom, and found their
bed burning with her parents in it.

“I dragged my mother out,” she said. “Neighbors put out the fire. My father,
partly burned, was unconscious, and died on the way to the hospital.”

Minna told police that she was in the bathroom when she heard her daughter
scream. Upon running into the bedroom, she saw her husband in the blazing bed.
In one story, she fainted and fell against the bed, whereby she received some
burns. In another version, she received her burns from trying to pull her
husband out of the bed.

All of the windows and door locks in the house were found intact, and police
began to believe the murder was committed by someone in the household.

Window of bedroom where Arbogast was killed1

At
first, police believed Minna committed the murder in a state of rage after
rumors claimed she had discovered that Louise and her husband not only worked
together at the meat market, but were also comrades “in the most intimate
sense.”

Then, authorities began to look at the oldest daughter, Louise, who, it was
said, had not been mentally right for several years. When quite young, she
began to visit fortune tellers and kept it up until it amounted to a passion
with her. As a result of what the fortune tellers told her, Louise had
developed a firm hallucination that she and her sister were being pursued by a
mysterious man. Her condition became such that last winter she was sent to St.
Luke’s Hospital, but her father had pressed for early release, despite warnings
from the doctors that she may become violent. She had only recently returned
home, apparently cured of her hallucinations, but at intervals her mind
returned to fortune telling and such arts, until again she became thoroughly
obsessed.

A few days after his death, Louise was arrested for the murder of her father. On
June 7, Minna and Louise were indicted by a grand jury. Both women plead not
guilty to the murder. Because of Louise’s past problems, she underwent a sanity
hearing and was found to be sane. She was released on bail on July 14. Minna’s
trial began in Oct., and she was acquitted and released on Nov. 4, 1909. The
indictment against Louise was quashed on Dec. 3, 1909. No new evidence was
found against Louise and it appeared the chances of her conviction, based on
Minna’s acquittal, were very unlikely.

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If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in
Minnesota, I specialize in researching
genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis.,
including: census records, birth records, death certificates, obits, grave site photos,
ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of
intent/naturalization records. I will visit locations to research local
history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS
records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

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About Me

In the process of researching my book, "The Memory Quilt," I did some family history research and my interest was piqued. Over the years, I have become very passionate about the process, and want to help others discover their roots. Visit TheMemoryQuilt.com and click on the Family History Research button in the left-hand column for services and prices. Email: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com